1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pipe fittings and more specifically to those fittings which accommodate different size pipe ends such as those which exist on the outlet ports of detachable ammunition magazines for paintball markers.
2. Description of the Known Art
The ever-increasing popularity of war games in which frangible paintballs are shot to mark a living target, has prompted many improvements designed to enhance the rapid and sustained firing of a large quantity of paintball projectiles. As shown in FIG. 1, most recent models of paintball markers 1 use a substitutable magazine 2 for carrying a quantity of spherical paintball projectile ammunition 3 as disclosed in Lorenzetti, U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,457 incorporated herein by this reference. The magazine 2 mounts to the upper section of the marker by engaging its tubular outlet port 4 to the tubular feed port 5 of the marker. When so mounted, both ports are generally arranged coaxially to form a cylindrical passage through which the projectiles freely flow.
Magazines are often manufactured having dissimilarly dimensioned outlet port tubes thereby resulting in a magazine which is loosely fitted to the marker which can allow for unintentional disorientation or even dislodgement of the magazine leading to an interruption in rapid and sustained firing.
Various solutions have been proposed including intermediate adapters having opposite ends each sized to fit particular magazine sizes to various marker feed port tube sizes. Such solutions increase the bulkiness of the magazine and typically require the user to have a different adapter for each different size magazine. Further, such adapters often increase the length of the cylindrical passage. The change in the diameter of the passage can lead to fouling or otherwise less than a smooth rapid flow of paintballs.
The present invention is an attempt to overcome the above-identified problems.
Details of different types of fittings are outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 1,007,295 issued to Lane on Oct. 31, 1911, U.S. Pat. No. 1,881,943 issued to Rader on Oct. 11, 1932, U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,805 issued to Lipari on Sep. 14, 1976, U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,457 issued to Lorenzetti on Nov. 24, 1992, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,448 issued to Shim on Sep. 21, 1999.
Each of these patents is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. Several of these patents describe different areas of the various arts as noted by the following comments.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,007,295 issued to Lane on Oct. 31, 1911 entitled Pneumatic Hammer discusses pneumatic hammers having a detachable nose piece and a means for securing said nose piece to the hammer.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,881,943 issued to Rader on Oct. 11, 1932 entitled Joint discusses joints between pipes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,805 issued to Lipari on Sep. 14, 1976 entitled Quick release sleeve fastener discusses an electrical interconnection apparatus for coaxial cable and the like comprising a shielding sleeve removably slipped about, and covering access ports in, a tubular conductor featuring a snap-on retaining clip. An inwardly extending pin on the inner surface of the clip is inserted in aligned apertures in the sleeve and conductor to secure the sleeve in place. The clip is readily pried off to permit moving aside the sleeve for access through the ports to solder joints, for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,457 issued to Lorenzetti on Nov. 24, 1992 entitled Ammunition magazine for a paintball gun discusses a magazine for gravity feed of frangible, paint-containing projectiles into a gas operated gun, the magazine which comprises a generally closed hollow container with a smooth inner surface, a filling port positioned on its upper portion and an outlet port positioned on a lower most portion. A transfer tube is attached externally to the outlet port to communicate the outlet port to a feed port on the gun. A channel is formed along the mixer surface so that the channel will direct projectiles along its length by gravity to its terminus at the outlet port. A raised portion of the inner surface around a portion of the circumference of the outlet port effectively forms a dam precluding flow of projectiles into the outlet port from the portion of the circumference so blocked.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,448 issued to Shim on Sep. 21, 1999 entitled Apparatus for coupling video printed circuit board assembly of monitor discusses a video printed circuit board mounted on a slotted holder which closely receives the neck of a CRT and has a plurality of circumferentially-diverged apertures which receive projections extending from a circumscribing elastic band that compresses the holder, the projections frictionally engaging the neck.
These prior art patents fail to teach the fitting for releasably connecting in an end-to-end orientation with a first tube end connecting to a second tube end having an outer diameter within a specified range for use between the ammunition feed port of a paintball marker and the outlet port of a paintball magazine. Thus, it may be seen that these prior art patents are very limited in their teaching and utilization, and an improved fitting apparatus is needed to overcome these limitations.